Fallstaff's Uprising
Fallstaff's Uprising, also known as Fallstaff's Rebellion,''' '''was a failed attempt led by Lord Fallstaff and other members of the Mint Adventurer's Guild to take control of the city-state from King Riverrust and the Guildmasters of Mint. Fallstaff, with the assistance of the demon Yamajiji, led an incursion-turned-civil-war on Mint, capturing the reservoir that provided water for the entire city-state. Initial Timeline The uprising culminated in the Battle of Mint, wherein Fallstaff's rebels and demons led by Yamajiji fought against the Champions of Anyotkim and the Mint militia. The battle concluded in the arrival of the demon lord Enenra, who siphoned Yamajiji's soul after being slain by the Champions of Anyotkim. Enenra's arrival and subsequent departure prompted a full retreat by the demon forces aiding the rebels, who were forced to retreat to their holdout in the Mint reservoir, where they enacted a city-wide shutdown of water distribution. Bloody and beaten, the forces loyal to Mint returned to the city to lick their wounds. Taking shelter in an abandoned rebel hideout, the Champions of Anyotkim rested while they planned out their next move. Taking back the reservoir was critical - as the only source of water available to the city, the rebels could force Mint loyalists to surrender by denying them access to drinkable water. It was decided they would take a few hours' respite to tend their wounds and recover their abilities before returning to press their advantage. By the time they are ready to return to war, however, it was too late. In a last ditch attempt to bring ruin to the city that had wronged him, Fallstaff unleashed a lycanthropic plague upon the city, distributed through the reservoir, that infected nearly all of Mint within hours. This was not the standard curse of lycanthropy, either, but a plague specifically designed by Ellora, a master alchemist that had created the so-called Night Howler plague at Fallstaff's request. Without a means of curing the fast-acting, incredibly contagious bio-weapon, Mint falls within two days. Defeated and horrified at what they have just witnessed, the Champions of Anyotkim return to Prospero to seek counsel from the Order of the Lotus and Oleander University. Prospero is shocked at the destruction of their sister city-state, and discussions are held on how to take back Mint, either by concocting a cure for the plague or by exterminating the Night Howlers and occupying the city by force. Second Timeline While regrouping in Prospero, the Champions of Anyotkim are met by Ysbaili, a fey creature working for the Lord of the Wild Hunt that had assisted them in the past. Hearing of the fall of Mint, and seeing its effect on the Champions, Ysbaili offered a deal: Oleander University holds in its possession a powerful artifact known as a Starstone. In exchange for this artifact, Ysbaili will transport the Champions backwards in time, allowing them to stop the fall of Mint, saving countless lives in the process. The deal is struck. Gaining access to the Starstone is simple enough, and upon reaching it Ysbaili performed a magical ritual, flinging the party through time and space. As they fell through the timestream, Green Weed is struck by sharp black rock that embedded itself in her side, which will eventually be identified as a Shard of Yoval'Nah. The Champions arrived back in Mint, hidden on an outcropping of rock as their past selves strike the final blow to Yamajiji during the Battle of Mint. After Enenra's arrival and their past selves fleeing the field, the Champions continued on to the reservoir, intent to put a stop to Fallstaff's machinations and set right what once went wrong. Watching as Night Howlers pick apart what remains of the demonic forces, they arrive at the reservoir to find it overrun by Night Howlers. Exploring the reservoir and water pumping station, the Champions discover a wounded ally, One-Eyed Pete, who informs them that strange music had begun playing over the pumping station intercom, forcing everyone in the facility to turn on one another. Healing One-Eyed Pete, the Champions resolve to continue onward, crafting makeshift earplugs out of wax to block out the strange music. Delving deeper into the station, the Champions discover Aghh within the Administration Room, the source of the strange music. He was serenading the mutilated and heavily injured body of the Alpha Night Howler, suspended above the reservoir and bleeding so profusely into the water as to turn the liquid crimson red. Convinced by the Champions to leave the reservoir, Ahgg does so, returning to his home in the Underdark. After searching the rest of the pumping station, the Champions find Fallstaff deep inside the distribution center, his hand resting on the lever that would release the now-infected water back to Mint proper. After a brief attempt at talking the man responsible down from his genocidal goal, the Champions apprehend him, and Fallstaff is executed by Ryō Kawatarō. Aftermath With the destruction of Mint thwarted and the reservoir retaken by the Mint militia, the Champions of Anyotkim returned to Mint, where they were formally knighted by King Riverrust and each granted a royal favor. Dirae Kawatarō Poulderborn of Amusa uses her favor to ask that Tallfence Prison be shut down and its warden, Lord Tallfence the Chain Driver, be investigated for murder and humans rights violations. At the request of Ryō Kawatarō, a chapter of the Order of the Lotus is opened in Mint, with the purpose of working alongside the Mint militia to protect the population from the Night Howlers.